September 15, 2015: Rabbit Advocacy Network, House Rabbit Society, and SaveABunny, on behalf of tens of thousands of house rabbit lovers, are thrilled to announce the end of rabbit meat sales at Whole Foods Market (WFM).

Whole Foods Market’s sale of rabbit meat began in Summer 2014 as a pilot program and drew widespread criticism from pet lovers across the nation, attracting dozens of protests at their stores as well as a petition signed by over 50,000 people.

A House Rabbit Society member and long-time Whole Foods shareholder traveled 800 miles to attend the annual Whole Foods Market Shareholders Meeting in Charlotte, NC today to speak on behalf of the bunnies being killed for the grocery chain’s meat case. She does not consider herself an activist, but felt strongly that the shareholders meeting would be an integral outlet to bring up her concerns as both an investor in the company as well as a lover of pets. After her heartfelt plea to the Whole Foods leadership team, she was told by Whole Foods’ Chief Operating Officer, A.C. Gallo, that Whole Foods had decided to cease the sales of all rabbits by the end of 2015. According to the 2012 American Pet Products Association (APPA) Pet Owners Survey, 2.5 million households now live with rabbits, who are now the nation’s third most popular (behind cats and dogs) furry pet. Their 2009-2010 survey found that 6,678,000 rabbits were kept as pets in the United States in 2010, and that number continues to increase.

Margo DeMello, President of House Rabbit Society, had this to say about Whole Foods’ decision: “We could not be more excited that Whole Foods has decided to listen to their customers, and pet lovers across the country, and ended their sale of rabbit meat. We thank Whole Foods for putting pets before profits. We hope that other grocery chains will follow in Whole Foods’ footsteps, and make a similar decision: that rabbits, or any pets, are not a viable meat.”

Tara Baxter of Rabbit Advocacy Network commented, “We are extremely grateful that a monumental amount of rabbit lives will be saved moving forward. We hope that other grocery chains will follow suit so that the cruelty inherent in rabbit farming will cease forever. The undercover investigation done by Last Chance for Animals of the Pel-Freez rabbit farm proves that there is no humane way to farm and kill a bunny and that these animals suffer immensely when they should be treated like the beloved companion animals they are.”